Qualcomm Snapdragon 1000-powered Win 10 PCs could arrive by 2019

Qualcomm is gearing up to take on Intel in the notebook market with what is being called the Snapdragon 1000 SoC. What will set apart this initiative from other Windows 10 on ARM devices currently powered by its Snapdragon 835 SoC is that it will be the first chip from the US-based company to be specifically developed for the express purpose of being embedded in a notebook PC. As such, it is being reported that Qualcomm is targeting a TDP between 5W and 7W, which would pit it directly against ultra-low voltage chips from Intel like its Core-based Y-series chips.

The timing of the leak is interesting, as it coincides with the official announcement of the ARM Cortex-A76, which will be fabricated on TSMC's new 7 nm process. ARM claims that the chips built on the new Cortex-A76 architecture will bring true notebook-class performance with a 35% increase in performance, 40% improved power efficiency and 4 times increased machine learning workloads. As an ARM licensee, Qualcomm will likely further optimize the ARM architecture with customized features that could further boost overall performance. With a TDP up to 6.5W or 7W and clocked at 3GHz or higher, the Snapdragon 1000 should give Intel plenty of cause for concern.

According to the rumor mill, Asus could be first to market with a Snapdragon 1000-based device, and it could land in either late 2018, or Q1 2019. The Taiwanese company is said to be working closely with Qualcomm on the Windows 10 device, which is reported to be going by the codename "Primus." With more "always-connected" Windows 10 on ARM devices coming soon on Snapdragon 845 and 850 platforms, as well as a rumored ARM-based A-Series Apple MacBook, Intel will be hoping that consumers value performance over power-efficiency.

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